Student has been charged with sending offensive messages about another student’s religion in UP

Police have launched an investigation after screenshots of a student’s chat with another student who allegedly made offensive comments against each other’s religion surfaced online, sparking tensions here on Monday night, officials said.

A large crowd of members of the minority community surrounded the house of the affected child, prompting the police to deploy large numbers of personnel.

The protesters demanded the arrest of the child who made the offensive comments in the chat.

“Two children from different communities attend the same school and exchanged inappropriate messages, including offensive comments about each other’s religion,” said Pavitra Mohan Tripathi, additional superintendent of police (rural).

“As the news spread, a large crowd gathered as it was evening. A case has been registered in connection with the incident and further legal proceedings are underway,” the official said.

Tripathi said to maintain peace, police have been deployed in the area due to the ongoing festival season.

On the complaint of Rehmat Ali Hashmi, a resident of Nanpara town, against the child, an FIR was lodged at the local police station under Sections 298 (Violating or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 302 (uttering words etc. with the deliberate intention of hurting the religious sentiments of any person), 352 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace) and 353 (utterances leading to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The incident came amidst protests and tension in several parts of Uttar Pradesh over controversial Ghaziabad priest Yati Narsinghan who made objectionable remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI.)